Decreasing inflammability of cigarettes



' March 26, 1935. s. E. SEAMAN I DECREASING INFLAMMABILITY OF CIGARETTES Filed May 25, 1933 I r 7 INVENTOR .6 per for the tobacco Prams Mar. sauce DECBEASING PATENT "OFjFlCE oraaas'rrss siewartlllmerseamamwhltel 'lainami.

Application may 25, ms, Serial No. cram 10 Claims- (0L m-sz) My invention relates to the preparation of a cigarette of decreased inflammability at a given point or points in or on said cigarette, by the attachment to the inside or outside of the wrapportion, or by the treatment of the paper at a predetermined place or places, with a solution, compound or product of noncellulosic nature which retards or diminishes inflammability at the point or places treated, so that when said cigarette is normally smoked or reduced in length by burning to the point or points in contact with the fire-retardant, the tendency to continuation of burning, is materially lessened. My invention, therefore, comprehends a treatment of the paper portion or wrapper of a cigarette in any manner which will materially diminish its inflammability and speed of burning where the treated paper wrapper comes in contact with the burning cigarette,; -;thereby' materially lessening the fire hazard when such partially consumed cigarette is discarded while still burning-as usually is the case.

I By my treatment of the paper portion of a cigarctic, when the same is normally smoked to the point or place of treatment-or treatments if the inflammability-reducing treatment has been applied to more than one portion of the paper wrapper of the cigarette-when the unsmoked portion is discarded, said unsmoked portion will be almost immediately extinguished automatically, instead of being left perhaps in contact with inflammable material where ignition may take place, and a conflagration thereby initiated. Usually when a partially smoked cigarette is discarded, the smoker seldom remains watching the same until it is extinguished.

One object of my invention is to produce a paper wrapper which has been treated at a predetermined place and for a predetermined width-usually from one-fourth to three-fourths .of an inch depending upon the avidity of fireretardant possessed by the paper so treatedwhich will immediately diminish the inflammability and curtail the burning power of tobacco inside said wrapper, whether the remains of the cigarette be held in the mouth of the smoker or discarded.

- Another object is to treat the cigarette wrapper with the fire-reducing material at the place on the cigarette where experience has shown that it is normally discarded, which is when the normal length of the cigarette has been reduced by from one-fourth to three-fourths, and in general to about one-half the original length.

It is essential in this treatment of cigarette the material used for the purpose of inflammability be colorless or nearly so unless it is preferred to directly add a coloring matter to produce a distinctive appearance; should be tasteless, substantially odorless, not materially increase the smoke normally given of! in the smoking operation, and leave no peculiar taste in the mouth after smoking, that can properly be ascribed to the presence of the fire-retardant in the paper wrapper.

Statistics of ilre insurance companies give tangible evidence of the large losses sustained by fires initiated by the careless discarding of partially smoked and still burning cigarettes in contact with inflammable material.

My invention in its broad sense comprehends reducing the inflammability of a cigarette at any point or place where the paper wrapper thereof has been treated with an inflammability-reducpaper, that diminishing ing material answering the specifications above so mentioned, w. ther said addition to the wrapper be in the dissolved or undissolved condition, whether it be a solid or a liquid, and if a liquid, irrespective as to whethersaid liquid is aqueous.

non-aqueous or both, asa compound solvent, or as whether the material paper either before or is applied directly after the paper has been wrapped around the tobacco, or whether the inflammability-reducing material is first applied to a paper tothe or other cellulosic ornon-cellulosic base, so

and then attached to the side of the paper ex- .terior to or in contact with the tobacco.

As suitable products for the purposes of this invention, have been of inorganic salts or other chemical compounds, such as ammonium sulfate, chloride, sulfate or phosphate or boric acid or sodium salts of thesame. Sodium silicate or other alkali metal silicate are other examples of water-soluble nreretardants suitable for the carrying out of this invention. Of the water-insoluble salts suitable may be mentioned alkali earth m l sulfates, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates and'oxalates'. Of materials soluble in volatile solvents, there is included the cellulose organic esters and cellulose ethers, natural resins, oleo-resins and resinous bodies; so-called synthetic resins and phenolaldehyde condensate bodies or other condensates used in connection with or in the preparation ofv synthetic resins and resinous bodies. Bakelites and glyptals are examples of such bodies. Casein-aldehyde or other casein or nitrogenous-containing suitable bodies fall within the scope of found aqueous solutions I specifications as above outlined.

brushing or otherwise on a cigarette paper of the normal size used in cigarette manufacture, on

' said paper in a band of about one-fourth to three-.

fourths inches wide, either as a single coating or a plurality of coatings either on the side of the paper which normally will be next to the tobacco, or on the other side, or on both sides, and the paper allowed to dry by solvent evaporation either at normal or elevated temperatures. I

Or, the fire-retarding composition may be placed on the paper in any approved manner while the paper is in large sheet or in roll form by any suitable mechanical device or manually.

In the illustrative example above, the cellulose ester may be entirely replaced by a resinous material, a phenolaldehyde condensate, a casein compound or other fire-retardants. If a watersoluble composition is employed, such as an aqueous solution of inorganic salts, a saturated solution is preferably prepared and applied to the portion of the paper desired of width required in order to induce the degree of fire-retarding effect required. Y

Normally it'has been found that the use of a single band of flre retardant composition is sufflcient, or a single application of a non-celluiosic inflammability-reducing composition, and experience has shown that, inasmuch as a cigarette is normally discarded when between threefourths and one-fom'th smoked-usually when about a half or a little less-that the fire-retarding composition should be placed at that distance from the end of the cigarette normally lighted.

It is not intended that the fire-proofing composition shall be placed on or in the cigarette paper wrapper suillciently near the end normally placed in the mouth so as to touch the lips of the smoker, or elsewhere so as to materially interfere with the normal smoking of the cigarette.

' A cigarette made according to my invention will go out when held between the lips and when smoked to the point of application of the fireretardant, unless drawn upon vigorously and continuously, and until the cigarette has been consumed beyond this point.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 represents a cigarette, the fire-retardant band being indicated at "A. In Fig. 2 is shown the paper before wrapping'around tobacco, the fire retardant portion being indicated as at A A and A I am aware of U. S. Patent 931,629 for Impregnating or coating the ends of cigars so the same will not touch the lips of the smoker; U. 8. Patent 779,687 for a Mouthpiece for a cigarette or cigar; and German Patent 378,122 to encase the entire length of a cigarette in a transparent cellulose-containing wrapper as of cellophane. I disclaim all features embodied in said issued patents.

What I claim is:- i. A process for reducing the inflammability of that portion of a cigarette which normally is discarded, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette for the width desired with a resinous composition, as herein set forth.

theinflammbmty of a cigarette'ata Dre-determined place, com-I prising coating the wrapper of the cigarette with a resinous composition, and allowing the liquid Portion of the coating composition to evaporate,

as herein set forth.

4. A process for reducing the inflammability of a cigarette when partially consumed, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette with a synthetic resin composition substantially odorless and tasteless containing a lire-retardant therein, as herein set forth.

5. A process for reducing the inilammability of a cigarette when one-quarter to threearters consumed, comprising coating the paper p rtion of the cigarette at one or more places with a phenol-aldehyde composition containing an inflammability-reducing material therein, and allowing the liquid portion of the coating composition to evaporate, as herein set forth.

6. A process for producing a cigarette a portion of the wrapper of which is diillcultly bumable, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette in a plurality of applications with an ble solution of non-cellulosic composition substantially odorless and-tasteless containing a fire-retardant therein, and allowing the liquid portion of the coating composition to,-

evaporate, as herein set forth.

7. A process for producing a cigarette a portion of the wrapper of which is of diminished inflammability, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette for the width desired with an inflammable solution of non-cellulosic composition containing an inflammability-reducing material therein, as herein set forth.

8. A process for reducing fire hazard in the consumption of cigarettes, comprising coating the paper wrapper with a resinous composition, and allowing the liquid portion of the coating composition to evaporate, as herein set forth.

9. A process for reducing the inflammability of that portion of a cigarette which normally is discarded, comprising impregnating the paper wrapper with a synthetic resin composition containing a fire-retardant therein, as herein set forth.

10. A process for reducing the inflammability of a cigarette at a pre-determined place, comprising coating the wrapper of the cigarette with a phenol-aldehyde composition substantially odorless and tasteless containing an inflammability-reducing material therein, and allowing the liquid portion of thecoating compodtion to evaporate, as herein set forth.

11. A process for reducing the inflammability of a cigarette when one-quartertothree-quarters consumed, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette at one or more places witha non-cellulosic composition containing an inflammable liquid with a fire-retardant therein, and allowing the liquid portion of the coating composition to evaporate, as herein set forth.

12. A process for producing a cigarette a portion of the wrapper of which is diflicultly bumable, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette in a plurality of applications with a resinous composition substantially odorless and whichnormsliyis.

tion of the wrapper oi} which is of diminished inflammabiiity, comprising coating the paper portion of the cigarette for the width desired with a synthetic resin composition containing a fire-retardant therein, as herein set forth.

'14. A process for reducing fire hazard in the consumption o1 cigarettes, comprising coating the paper wrapper with a phenolaldehyde composition containing an inflammability-reducing material therein, and allowing the liquid portion of the coating composition to evaporate, as herein set forth.

15. A process for reducing fire hazard in the consumption of cigarettes comprising coating the paper portion of a cigarette for a portion of its length with an inflammability-reducing composition in an inflammable liquid comprising a phenol-aldehyde in solution, and evaporating the voiatile portion therefrom, as herein described. 16. As a new article, a cigarette the wrapper of which is coated tor a portion of its length with a non-'cellulosic fire-retarding composition dissolved in an inflammable solvent. 1 STEWART E. SEAMAN. 

